


Strangers in the Snow

by unwillingadventurer



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Little Women Series - Louisa May Alcott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28148988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unwillingadventurer/pseuds/unwillingadventurer
Summary: The March Sisters invite the Doctor, Steven and Vicki into their home.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Strangers in the Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ilwin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilwin/gifts).



> A Christmas gift for Hanka :)

Admiring the delicate snowflakes that fell upon the window pane, Beth March beckoned her sisters to join her and there they stood together, arm in arm, watching as the light snow became stronger and stronger as the minutes passed.

“I sure hope there’ll not be a horrid blizzard,” Amy said. “It would do terrible things to my curls.”

“I love the snow on my hair,” Jo said.

Beth wrapped one of Jo’s curls around her finger. “Oh to have your hair, Jo. It’s your best feature.”

“Girls, do you hear that noise?” Meg said.

Four pairs of curious eyes examined the window.

“Whatever are we listening for?” Amy asked.

It was then they all heard it, the sound of screeching nearby. The strange sound grew louder and louder and in front of their eyes as though by magic, a bizarre blue box appeared on the other side of the street and became solid, standing out against the white of the snow.

“Christopher Columbus!” Jo cried.

“What is it?” Beth said, cowering slightly behind her sisters.

“Is it an invasion?” Jo said. “A group of confederate soldiers here to kidnap and maim us?”

“Your imagination, Jo!” Meg said. She pointed to where through the snow, three people emerged from two doors at the front of the blue box. “It’s simply some strange carriage from another land.”

“Yes, and there’s a handsome young man at the front,” Amy said, pushing past her sisters to be the first to the door.

Her sisters followed quickly and watched as Amy opened the door excitedly. 

“Oh no, the old man appears to be injured,” Beth said, rushing outside, forgetting her own safety in the moment. She saw someone in need and thought little to the hazard of the icy path. She helped the two younger people to bring the old man into the house.

“Here, sit by the warmth of our fire, sir,” Meg said as the Doctor was lowered into their father’s arm chair, warm by the glowing fire.

The Doctor coughed into a handkerchief. “Thank you, young lady. I assure you I’m quite well. A minor attack of rheumatism due to the cold weather but nothing to worry about hmm?”

“Still, Doctor, it’s lucky these young ladies helped,” Steven said. “What with our… transport on the blink.”

“My dear young man, we do not need to go into that.”

“I just mean it’s cold in there and we’ve been travelling a lot. It’s nice to get inside and sit for a while in the warm.”

“Travellers?” Jo said with her hands pushed together. “How exciting? Where have you been? India, Africa? An exotic island? It must be so wonderful.”

“It has its moments,” Steven said.

“Thanks for letting us come inside,” Vicki added. “I’m freezing. I’m Vicki by the way and he’s Steven and that’s the Doctor.”

“A doctor, how wonderful,” Beth said. “Are you family?”

Steven and Vicki exchanged glances. “Yes, this is our… grandfather,” Vicki said. She’d used that lie before and it seemed to work in many of their trips to the past.

“So, you’re brother and sister?” Meg asked.

Vicki laughed. “In some sense. The Doctor and I sort of adopted him.”

Amy stepped forward. “We’re the March sisters. I’m Amy,” she said, directing that part specifically at Steven. “This is Meg and Beth and the bossy one is Jo.”

“Amy!” Jo said, pinching her on the arm until she squealed. She then glanced at the strangers’ outfits. “Your clothes are so strange,” she said, looking at the cloaks they wore over other fabrics she didn’t recognise. She glanced at Vicki’s trousers. “Oh to be able to wear trousers like the boys.”

“You really should change,” Amy said, “Vicki, you can’t possibly walk around dressed like a boy. I must lend you a dress, or one of Beth’s, she’s more your size.”

She grabbed Vicki’s hand and led her away to her bedroom where Vicki glanced back at Steven and the Doctor with fear in her eyes.

“You must change too, Doctor, Steven,” Meg said. “Father’s room is at the end of the house. You’ll find something dry in there.”

“Most kind, young lady, most kind,” the Doctor said. “Steven, my boy, if you could help me.”

“Marmee will be home soon and then you can meet her,” added Beth as they left the room.

…

Groaning, Steven adjusted the collar of his shirt as he stood in front of the mirror in the March master bedroom.

“Stop fiddling with it, my boy.”

“People actually used to dress like this? It’s so restricting! I feel suffocated.”

“Not the first time we’ve worn old clothing, my boy.”

“Well, I’ll never be used to it.”

“Yes, well spare a thought for the ladies being squeezed into those corsets.”

Steven nodded. “So what year is this anyway? I’m not good at guessing time period by fashion. Obviously it must be some time in either the 18th or 19th century, am I right?”

“The 1860’s one would guess, my boy,” the Doctor said, looking proudly at himself in the small mirror.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I have my ways of knowing.”

“You’re so obtuse.”

“America, my dear young man, is in the grips of a most fascinating civil war,” the Doctor said. “Did you not see the union soldiers around town when we arrived?”

“Saw them but didn’t know who they were and I’m not really sure they’d think their war was fascinating, Doctor.”

“Yes of course, most horrific, but you and I will be in the grips of another civil war if you don’t stop adjusting yourself, young man.”

“Sorry, Doctor.”

When Steven and the Doctor finally re-joined the ladies in the living room, Vicki was standing with the four sisters by the window as they had done earlier. She was already dressed and looked elegant in her long pale green dress and slippers. 

When Vicki caught glimpse of Steven smirking, she wagged her finger. “You dare say a word, Steven.”

He held his hands up in protest. “Wasn’t going to.”

“Good. But boy do you look funny!” she let out, giggling with Amy.

“You’re daring!” Beth said.

“We mustn’t be unkind,” Meg added. “Or untrue. Steven and the Doctor look most genial in father’s clothes.”

Vicki stifled her giggles and then looked at the snow outside. “Where I come from, we didn’t get a lot of snow. The world got a bit too hot and it got rarer and rarer and rarer.”

“Vicki!” Steven said.

“Sorry, what I meant was I’m not really a fan of being cold but I do like snow.”

…

An hour passed quickly and peacefully with Beth playing an assortment of piano compositions and Amy dancing with Jo in front of the mantel. At one stage, Vicki joined them, giggling at how polite the dancing seemed to be with lots of bobbing up and down and walking in circles. The Doctor, Steven, and Meg watched in admiration but outright refused to participate even when Jo attempted to encourage Steven to join them.

“I know a boy, Teddy, who doesn’t mind to dance,” Jo said.

“Yes, well, I’m sure this Teddy is very capable whereas I’m only passable,” Steven replied.

“He’s not terrible,” Vicki said nudging him. “He’s just not cool.”

“Cool?” Amy was bemused by the expression.

It was at the sound of frivolity and celebration that Marmee returned home, quite surprised to see the three strangers in the house with an old man sitting in her absent husband’s chair.

“The Doctor was suffering in the snow,” Meg quickly said, immediately assisting her mother with taking off her coat. “Vicki and Mr. Taylor are his grandchildren. Is it so windy out there?”

“Terrible, my dears.”

“We really mustn’t impose on you any longer,” the Doctor began, “our carriage is outside.”

Marmee held her hands up. “You cannot possibly leave in this weather. You shall wait until morning, I insist. Hannah will prepare food for us all.”

And so there the Doctor, Steven, and Vicki sat to dinner with the generous family where they talked about the girls’ lives, ambitions and days waiting for their father to return from the civil war. Finally, as night drew in and they headed to bed, the Doctor and Steven shared the spare room with Steven taking the chair and the Doctor the bed to himself.

Vicki slept in the other end of the bed from Beth and was overjoyed at having some female company. “I’ve never had a sleepover with girls,” she said. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”

“You can be one of our sisters,” Amy said, sitting on the bed and tying Vicki’s hair with a bow. “That’s better.”

“A bow? But I’m going to bed.”

“No reason a lady shouldn’t look her best.”

Jo sighed and pulled Vicki off her bed by her arm. “Never mind the bow, Vicki. We shall swear you officially into the March sister honour core. You must swear the oath I’ve written.”

Vicki giggled. “You have an oath?”

“For loyalty between sisters.”

Jo laughed as she placed a large hat on Vicki’s head and stood her in front of the mirror. Her sisters laughed as Vicki was spun on the spot until she was dizzy.

“Jo makes us do these bizarre ceremonies,” Amy said, rolling her eyes upwards.

Jo stuck out her tongue. “Vicki’s a far better sister than you.”

“How horrid, Jo!” Meg said.

Amy grabbed Jo’s hair and pulled it until she screamed. Meg and Beth held them back.

“We’ll wake Marmee and the Doctor,” Beth said softly, her voice barely audible.

“Jo, apologise for your rudeness,” Meg said, “and Amy apologise for your actions.”

Vicki laughed. “Sounds like me and Steven when we have an argument. Best thing for it…a truce!”

Shaking hands, Jo and Amy agreed to be civil. Jo was about to make a speech when she suddenly shrieked. “Christopher Columbus, it’s snowing even more. We shall have the time of it tomorrow!”

…

The next morning whilst the Doctor talked with Marmee in the living room, the March sisters dragged their new sister Vicki and the young man Steven into the front yard.

“Steven, how handsome you look in father’s coat,” Amy said, smiling.

He smiled awkwardly at her. “Thank you.”

Jo punched him on the arm. “Is old Stevie ready for a snowball fight?”

Steven’s irritated eyes locked on Jo’s and he grinned. “It’s Steven, and yes I’m always ready. When you travel with Vicki and the Doctor you have to be prepared for anything. So, who’s on my team?”

The girls giggled. Amy smiled as they all linked arms. “It’s us sisters and Vicki against you.”

“Me on my own against five of you lobbing snow?” Steven spluttered. “That’s not exactly fair.”

“Please, Mr. Taylor,” Beth said. “We’re only five young girls.”

“In my experience being young or a girl makes absolutely no difference!”

“Maybe it is a little unfair,” Meg added.

Vicki scooped up a ball of snow. “How about my favourite idea? No rules at all. Every man or woman for themselves.”

Soon everyone was laughing as snow balls flung through the air, leaving not a soul untouched by the white. Amy let out a high-pitched shriek as an ice-cold ball landed on her cheek. Beth, the smallest, fed up with having every snowball ricochet off someone else and onto her, hid behind a tree for safety.

As Jo approached Steven ready to deposit a massive snowball onto his head, Meg frowned disapprovingly at her un-lady-like behaviour. It was at the moment as Jo grabbed hold of Steven that a red-faced and jealous looking Laurie appeared from behind Beth’s tree.

“Who’s he?” he said aside to Beth, watching Jo and Steven wrestle.

“That’s Steven. He, Vicki, and the Doctor have been staying with us. We’ve all taken a shine to   
them. They’re mysterious travellers.”

Laurie glanced at Steven, now chasing Jo by the front steps of the house. “So I can see. Tell Jo I stopped by, won’t you, Beth?”

“Won’t you stay?”

“No, no, not today.” He turned away sadly and walked on.

…

By the time the Doctor and Marmee joined the young ones outside, a smell of dinner was wafting from the kitchen but before Vicki could let her nose lead her to the table as she was starving, the Doctor pulled her by her sleeve.

“Vicki! Steven! Time to be going!” the Doctor said, lifting his cloak around him for warmth. He scarcely saw the snowball heading in his direction, landing squarely on his jaw. “Goodness gracious!”

Everyone laughed at the same time as he spluttered and hissed.

“Girls!” Marmee said, desperately trying to scold them but trying not to laugh at the same time.

“Who did that hmm?” the Doctor said, narrowing his eyes. “Well it can’t be that polite young lady Meg, or indeed that talented pianist Beth. Which leaves you four.” He glanced at the smirking faces of Steven, Vicki, Jo and Amy.

As they all protested their innocence, the Doctor scooped up four mounds of snow and pelted them one by one, in a line, almost in snowball execution style.

“It wasn’t us!” Amy squeaked.

Beth blushed. “I’m afraid it was me.”

They all looked at Beth and suddenly everyone, including the Doctor, burst into laughter.

“Do we really have to go, Doctor?” Vicki said as she embraced the girls. “I liked having sisters.”

“I’m afraid we must, dear child.”

“You’re welcome to visit any time,” Meg added.

Beth took the Doctor’s arm. “I’ll help you into the carriage.”

Jo meanwhile punched Steven’s arm. “It was nice knowing you, Stevie.”

“And you…Josephine.”

“I hope you continue travelling far and wide,” she added as she watched Steven and Vicki make their final farewells and join Beth and the Doctor by the carriage.

“Don’t forget me!” Amy called.

“We won’t!” Vicki added, waving at them.

As the sisters watched, their faces were alight with wonder as if by magic the box disappeared in front of their eyes as though it had never been there at all.

“Jiminy Crickets!” Jo said. “Were they wizards?”

“Your imagination, Jo,” Meg said.

“It wasn’t my imagination, you saw it too.”

Marmee folded her arms. “Girls, dinner.”

“Marmee, you saw it too right?” Amy said, rubbing her confused eyes.


End file.
